International Shorts.
Showcasing individuals and communities defying environmental destructions across land and sea around the world.
About the program.
Available to watch online 15 Oct - 14 Nov ‘21
$12 / $9 conc (passes available)
8 Shorts | 97'
EFFA '21's International Shorts package showcases individuals and communities defying environmental destruction across land and sea.
In the UK, farmers challenge their complicity in the beef trade and a primary school boy rethinks his relationship with the local nuclear power plant. Resistance and despair fluctuate in sombre explorations of water resourcing in Nepal, Iran, and native lands in the USA. In a performance-like spectacle, mackerel and sardines evade swordfish and seals while scientists in Hawaii work tirelessly to save the local snail population. Feminist themes abound in a powerful poetry reading by Amanda Palmer, and a hiking group reclaim the outdoors for the LGBTQIA+ community.
This selection of films perceive global efforts of connecting, mourning, and protecting nature, with the promise to incite the same veracity within your own relationship with the environment.
And amidst all this, a humble poet tries everything he can to keep his pot plants alive.
The Films.
73 Cows.
73 Cows tells the story of Jay Wilde, the first farmer in the UK to trade beef farming for sustainable organic vegan farming, giving up his entire herd of cattle in the process. Find out more on the EFFA Festival Hub.
Mni Wiconi: Water Is Life.
An animated short film using symbolic metaphors to represent the oil and gas industry bullying through Standing Rock, North Dakota. Find out more on the EFFA Festival Hub.
Sam and the Plant Next Door.
Growing up in the shadows of Britain’s biggest new nuclear power plant, 11-year-old Sam worries about what it means for the world around him. Find out more on the EFFA Festival Hub.
The Mushroom Hunters.
Neil Gaiman’s Rhysling Award-winning poem "The Mushroom Hunters" is brought to vivid life through a collaboration with musician Amanda Palmer and Gaiman himself. Find out more on the EFFA Festival Hub.
The Poet and the Plant.
A poet loves his new houseplant so much he kills it. A meditation on true love, loneliness, and listening. And an allegory for modern man’s relationship with nature, and how it can heal. Find out more on the EFFA Festival Hub.
Venture Out.
For Muir and Thoreau, wilderness was therapy, for they were nothing if not out-of-step with the larger society. Now, the balm of the outdoors is helping members of the LGBTQ community. On a trip organized by The Venture Out Project, trans backpackers explain how much it means for them to be themselves, together, outdoors. Find out more on the EFFA Festival Hub.
When Glaciers Go.
The remote Mustang region of Nepal is on the front line of our planet’s changing climate. With glacial water shortages forcing the Gurung family and neighbors from their homes, a course is charted for future generations and the Gurung family splits ways. The younger generation moves to a new village leaving behind traditional agriculture to grow apples as a cash crop to sell on the global market.
Find out more on the EFFA Festival Hub.
Where We Used to Swim.
Lake Urmia in Northern Iran was once the largest lake in the Middle East. But human influence set its course, and brought upon a devastating drought that the lake could not withstand. Today, just 5% of the original lake remains. The majority of the land is now barren and covered by salt. This cinematic essay observes the places of present and past, and weaves a new narration with fragments of identity and memory. Find out more on the EFFA Festival Hub.